Transcendent Affection
by Chronic Potterphile
Summary: Scorpius, Rose, Albus and Brianna, after a very eventful fifth year at Hogwarts enter their sixth year, hoping to have a peaceful time. However, their hopes remain just hopes, as new, strange events start occurring at Hogwarts, putting all their lives in danger. Once again, trust and faith are shaken at their very roots. Sequel to Black With a Hint of Red.
1. Prologue

**Story Notes:**

DISCLAIMER: I certainly do not own Harry Potter. I'm just having a little bit of fun!

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**Author's Chapter Notes:**

Hello, my dearest readers!

Here is another next-gen fic from my side, featuring some of my very favourite next-gen characters.

I would like to thank my wonderful Beta, TheCursedQuill/Sarah for all her opinions. :)

Hope you guys enjoy this one. Please do R/R!

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**_Prologue_**

**_The summer of 2023  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_**

_CRACK_.

It was like listening to a cheap firecracker go off— as if the second of May had just come to an end and someone was trying to get rid of a last, unused little firework after bursting an armload of them in celebration of Lord Voldemort's death. A few birds nervously took off and the flapping of their wings rang clear and loud through the foliage. Then there was silence. Thick, murderous silence, broken only with someone's gasping, ragged breaths. "Why?" asked the weak voice, gasping even more.

"I had to do it," replied another voice. This one was much stronger than the first.

"I n—need a r—reason…" replied the first, breaths getting more and more laboured. There was a thud. The person seemed to have fallen to the ground.

"I don't need to give one," replied the other voice, a menacing quality lingering around it. "I don't need to give one…"

"But what have I ever—" the first person couldn't complete the question. It seemed to be too painful to talk further.

"I'll make sure somebody finds your body on time," replied the other stronger, menacing voice before walking away.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy heard the receding footsteps as his cracked ribs caused him the worst agony possible. He could feel the blood rush out of a cut on his abdomen, trickling down to his sides and wetting his shirt as the pain increased more and more.

Another wound on his right arm just added to the pain and he could feel it burn and sear, pound and pulsate as though it were reminding him that he was still alive.

But he knew that he was going to die soon. There was no way out of this…

Everything around him was blurry and he was starting to lose track of what had happened… who he was… what he had been doing. A blissful blanket of black was falling over him, carrying him away to another world. Suddenly, the pain was no longer there. Suddenly, nothing was there. He was falling through an abyss… into the void.

***

Draco Malfoy sat on a wooden bench outside the hospital ward with the smell of spirits, antiseptic and medicinal potions slightly irritating him. He could just remember the Floo call he had received about an hour ago from his right-hand man and brother-in-law, Blaise Zabini.

_"Scorpius has been admitted into St Mungo's hospital. He is gravely injured. You need to reach there, immediately."_

Malfoy hadn't wasted a moment in rushing to the hospital to his son's side. Scorpius was extremely dear and precious and not even in his wildest dreams could Malfoy even think of losing his son— not after the tragedy that had taken place not very long ago. He loved his son so much that just corresponding with him through all those letters had helped him through that very traumatic phase.

But something strange had been happening since the last few months. Lately, something was wrong. Scorpius's life seemed to be in danger. Malfoy could remember Nathaniel Moore telling him that of late, he, Scorpius was being followed around and closely watched. There had also been all those unexplained incidents which had taken place at Hogwarts. Malfoy hadn't asked any questions, though. He had just asked Scorpius to be very careful, and Moore to strengthen the security around him. And now, it seemed it was too late to do anything about whoever had been trying to attack Scorpius.

_Oh Merlin, please let Scorpius come out of this alive. Just this time. Just this time…_

"Mr Malfoy?" said a voice and Malfoy stood up at the sight of the Healer.

"Healer Williams, is Scorpius—?"

"Mr Malfoy, he had lost a lot of blood by the time he was brought in… and the fractures were very bad. He was at a point of no return… we have tried to put him together, but the prognosis may not be great."

Malfoy's breath caught in his chest. No. No… this couldn't be happening…

"We understand if you would like to go in and see him." The Healer walked away, leaving Malfoy alone with his thoughts. Grudgingly, he entered the ward where Scorpius lay, with practically every part of his body covered in bandages. Malfoy sat beside his son and draped the boy's bare chest with his coat, glancing at the pale, but handsome face. He looked so much like Malfoy when he had been young…

Malfoy licked his lips, maintaining his composure with great effort. He pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket and read it thoroughly. Scorpius would be avenged— Malfoy would make sure of it. He would make sure that the culprit went behind bars. But there was something, or rather _someone_, else he had to take care of first— that bloody cheat of an Auror called Nathaniel Moore.


	2. Aiden Wilde

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

A huge thank you to Sarah/TheCursedQuill for her help with this story! Please R/R, people! I love reviews. And for those who hadn't already read this chapter- you may want to read Black With a Hint of Red before this one if you were planning to, because this chapter spoils that story.

Oh, and I've got rid of the Al/Albus problem here. :)

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**1. Aiden Wilde**

_**A few months ago  
September the first, 2022**_

"You have a good year at school," said Astoria Malfoy fondly, kissing her son goodbye.

Sixteen-year old Scorpius, who was slightly embarrassed at his mother kissing him, accepted it anyway and nodded. "Yes, Mother, I will." They were at platform nine and three-quarters and the Hogwarts Express stood before them, spewing out huge amounts of steam into the autumn air.

"Don't get into trouble like you did last year," Draco Malfoy added in his drawling voice. "And if you do, at least choose the right company for it."

"Potter, Flynn and Rose are decent company. And I didn't deliberately get into trouble. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"They belong to Gryffindor- a house full of nothing but people who are perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time. You being a Slytherin must stay clear of them. And I see you took the Weasley girl's name."

"Yes." Scorpius shrugged. "She's a good friend."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I have heard rumours, Scorpius. I even told you about them last Christmas. Are they true?"

"I… don't know what you're talking about," replied Scorpius, not meeting eyes with his father. "Whatever you've heard is a lie."

"And you'd better-"

"Draco!" Astoria said warningly. "Let him be."

"He's mingling with that Weasley girl, Astoria."

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Astoria replied. "Don't pull him into those old fights of yours."

Draco looked at her and then his son. There was silence. "Well goodbye, Scorpius," he said at last, deciding not to continue on his previous topic. "We will see you this Christmas. Take care."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Even if I don't take care of myself, I'm sure that _bodyguard_you've hired for me will." He glanced around at the wizard standing quietly a little behind them and frowned.

"That's for your own good," said Draco firmly. "After what happened this summer, I don't want any more unpleasant surprises. And I don't see why you're complaining. He's not coming to Hogwarts with you. It's only for the time while you're at home."

Scorpius nodded and Draco gave him a stiff, one-armed hug. Astoria hugged Scorpius once again and as he leaned over, she spoke into his ear quietly, "Tell me all about her in your letters, okay?"

Scorpius broke away, nodding and smiling faintly at her before getting into the train. He put his luggage in an empty compartment nearby as the guard blew his whistle. At that moment, all the other students who had been waiting at the platform with their parents began to rush into the train. Scorpius sat at his seat and waved at his parents as everybody got in and the train started to move. He watched his parents till the train rounded a corner, after which they disappeared. Then he sat back on his seat, sighing.

The last leg of his fifth year at Hogwarts had turned out to be pretty action-packed and when he had just started to think there couldn't be anything worse to happen after that, his mother had almost been attacked just a few weeks ago at a party that the Malfoys had hosted at their mansion. Scorpius could still remember watching horrified and frozen as the blast of green light soared towards his mother from nowhere and just narrowly missed her. Everyone in the party had been shocked for the next few minutes. The attacker though had fled immediately after, without a second trial because it was only too easy to trace the direction from which the curse had come. Of course, the whole area had been searched, but there wasn't any evidence leading to anything related to the attacker.

That was when Draco Malfoy, worried for the safety of his family, had gone and spoken to some freelance Auror called Nathaniel Moore and arranged for protection for the entire family. Now there was security personnel around their house and as if that wasn't enough, Scorpius had a 'bodyguard' to follow him around. Well, now he wasn't really bothered by it because father had promised him that he wouldn't require this 'bodyguard', or whoever, once he was in Hogwarts because he would be safe enough. His mother's attacker was very obviously not a student from Hogwarts.

Scorpius leaned back on his seat and shut his eyes, thinking about the other thing that his father had talked about. Draco had heard rumours. Well, of course he had. Scorpius and Rose were amongst the most popular couples in Hogwarts. And their popularity had increased ever since that other Merlin-awful incident a few months ago.

For a little more than five years at Hogwarts, Rose, Potter and Flynn had had two more members in their little group- Abby Clarke and Ian Murray. All five of them had been a very closely knit cluster of friends. They seemed to have no secrets from each other- no flaws at all. Rose and Scorpius and even Clarke and Murray had been in happy relationships and everything seemed to be perfect. Except that it was not.

One day during his Prefect duties, Scorpius had caught Murray in a broom cupboard snogging, not Clarke, but Flynn. As bewildered as Scorpius was to see the two of them together, he had sent them back to the Gryffindor Tower. And that very night, the picture-perfect group of friends got to meet the big mess it was in- a love triangle; well, actually a quadrangle. It was like this: Potter was crazy about Clarke, who was crazy about Murray, who was crazy about Flynn. There was also some nonsense about Clarke knowing about all of this and kissing Potter or something, but Scorpius had not cared to find out so much.

Days passed on after the eventful night and Clarke seemed to shrink before Scorpius's very eyes. She died suddenly one day and Murray was found to be the culprit a few days later. But it wasn't as if Scorpius had not been suspected at all. He had been the prime suspect- even in Rose's mind, and had suffered days of being under her suspicions too. It had injured him almost physically to see the loss of trust from the eyes of a girl he loved so much. It had all ended though and he got Rose back a few months after that.

Scorpius opened his eyes and smiled a little dreamily just as a muffled voice called out his name. "Oi, Malfoy!"

He turned to see Albus Potter open the compartment doors with his wand as Brianna Flynn and Rose Weasley beamed at him from behind Albus. The four of them had become good friends ever since the closing of the Clarke case. It seemed certain incidents brought you close to people you never even thought you'd be anything more than just basically acquainted with.

Presently, Albus walked in and slapped Scorpius's shoulder before grinning and wedging his trunk under the seat. Brianna gave him a small hug and Rose just stood at the doorway with a smile on her face. She had grown even prettier during the summer. She had let her fiery red hair grow longer and the curls now dropped right to her waist. Her blue eyes sparkled with happiness at all the good time she had spent at home and her face was alight with even more joy. She walked to him and planted a soft peck on his lips. "How have you been?"

"Fine," he replied. "You?"

"Good," she said. "I heard about that attack at your place…"

"And I received all your letters," replied Scorpius. "I know I didn't reply, but I was watched all the time. I couldn't afford to confirm Father's suspicions about you and me and suffer through his disapproving speeches."

Rose nodded understandingly and pushed her own trunk below the seat before speaking again. "Aren't we supposed to go to the prefects' carriage for the meeting? We're already slightly late, actually."

"Oh yeah," replied Albus, standing up. "Let's go then."

"You filthy bastards… and bitch," muttered Brianna jovially, trying to glare at them before breaking into a grin.

"What's with the pleasant language, Flynn?" Scorpius asked her.

"Oh, I'm just displaying my happiness at having to sit here all by myself for the next hour."

"We'll be back soon," said Albus softly, ruffling her hair as he exited the compartment along with Scorpius and Rose.

"Still fluttering with love for Flynn are we, Potter?" Scorpius asked as the three of them headed to the prefects' carriage.

"Well, we're still together if that's what you mean to ask me about," replied Al.

"That's exactly what I meant to ask."

"Excuse me," said a strange voice.

Scorpius stopped in his steps and so did Rose and Albus, only to see a strange boy of about the same age as the three of them stand before them with his arms folded across his chest. He was tall and well built, with black hair and blue eyes. Something about him seemed strange to Scorpius.

"May we help you?" Albus asked the boy.

"No, thank you," replied the latter, a small smile appearing on his face. "I was just looking around for a place to sit."

"Oh, well, you can join us. We'll be away for a while, but a friend of ours is in there," said Rose, gesturing to their compartment, much to Scorpius's annoyance. He had a bad feeling about this strange teenager. Something wasn't quite right.

"Thank you," replied the boy and walked away in the direction towards which Rose had pointed. Scorpius immediately started towards the prefects' carriage again and Albus was right with him. When Rose caught up though, she was positively flushed.

"Who was that?" she asked Scorpius. "I've never seen him around at Hogwarts."

"I haven't seen him either. He's probably a seventh year Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw whom we've never noticed," said Scorpius. "There's something off about him, though…"

"I don't think so!" Rose said defensively. "How can you say that?"

"It's just a feeling," Scorpius replied to her.

"Oh, the only feeling I got was that he's very attractive." Rose sighed.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. "You do remember that you have a boyfriend, right?"

"You know, I might just forget about that at times like this…" she replied, giving him a small wink and walked on. He followed her quietly, now positively bewildered about girls and the strange kind of people they got attracted to sometimes.

***

Brianna sighed at the exit of her friends and rummaged in her bag for a book to read while they were gone. She could remember the year before this one, when Rose and Albus going away to the Prefects' carriage didn't matter much because Ian and Abby were there anyway. But now everything had changed. Even though being with Albus and having Scorpius's company as a friend was good enough, Brianna still found herself ardently missing those old days when she, along with Rose, Albus, Ian and Abby had had all their fun chatting and pulling each other's' legs, playing games, sharing joys and sorrows, freaking out together during exams and the best part of all, making fun of Ian and Abby's cheesiness.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Brianna looked up to see a teenager standing outside. She gestured for him to come in wondering who he was as he opened the door and walked in, smiling at her. She couldn't help but notice that he was quite good looking. "Your friend said I'd find you here," he said to Brianna, his smile unwavering.

"Who?" Brianna asked him, feeling a little stupid.

"You know… she has red hair. She was with Albus Potter and she asked me to sit here. I hope you have no problem."

"Oh… no, not at all," Brianna said, righting herself. There was something odd about this strange boy, she realised. For starters, she had never seen him at Hogwarts. But he clearly was a student there- he couldn't obviously be a first year. But how hadn't he known Rose's name, but known Al's? That was impossible if you were a student at Hogwarts. Everybody knew Al, of course, but everyone knew Rose too. She was Ron and Hermione Weasley's daughter who was dating their arch enemy, Draco Malfoy's son, for the love of Merlin!

"By the way, I'm Aiden," said the boy, pulling Brianna out of her reverie as he held out his hand for her to shake. "Aiden Wilde."

"Brianna Flynn," she replied, shaking his hand. "Actually, I've never really seen you around at Hogwarts."

"Oh, that may be because I'm joining this year," said Aiden nonchalantly. "We just moved back into England from Bulgaria."

"Which year will you be joining?"

"The sixth year."

"Oh, looks like we'll be classmates!"

He looked a little relieved. "Well, at least I'll have a friend in my class, then."

Brianna nodded. "They let you join Hogwarts like this, do they?"

"Apparently, they do," replied Aiden.

"So… if you weren't at Hogwarts before this, how did you learn magic?" Brianna asked him.

"I went to Durmstrang," he said. "I guess you must have heard of it."

"Nope," she replied. "I'm Muggleborn. What is Durmstrang?"

"It's another school for magic."

"That's wicked! I didn't even know that schools other than Hogwarts existed for magic."

"There are plenty of them," replied Aiden. "How do you think other people around the world learn magic?"

"Well, I never thought about that, I guess," replied Brianna.

She and Aiden talked on until the lunch trolley arrived and they were able to buy wizarding snacks and sweets to quell their hungers. Soon after, Rose and the others arrived from their meeting and they blessed Brianna when they saw all the snacks saved up for them. But as Aiden and the others got introduced, Brianna realised that she couldn't quite shake off the strange gut feeling she was having about Aiden. She ignored it though, because she had realised during their conversation that Aiden himself was a little aloof and strange. Maybe that was why her gut feelings were nudging her so much. Anyhow, last year had been way too eventful for her to expect this year to beat it, so Brianna wasn't worried. She was sure that the worst was over.

***

_Knockturn Alley  
London_

A strange man in hooded robes walked through the dark lanes of Knockturn Alley, not looking around at the other strange people going about, doing their business or shopping or whatever else they had to do in the shops around them. He just walked on, taking a path he seemed to have taken many times in the past. At last, he reached a small office-like shop at the end of the narrow alleyway.

He opened the door and walked straight to the receptionist, who was buried completely in the _Daily Prophet_ and didn't seem to have noticed him enter. He cleared his throat and she looked up at him. "Yes? How may I help you?"

"I was here previously for-"

"Just give me your number," she said, interrupting him.

"Eleven," replied the hooded man.

The receptionist drew out a piece of parchment and checked it. "What do you need to know?"

"I need to know how long it will take."

She nodded. "It is under execution. It will take a while since this is a special case. Hogwarts is not an easy place to go through with this operation."

"Time is not my problem at the moment," replied the man. "However, I will not entertain an extensive delay."

"It will be done as soon as possible."

"Good. So can I meet Garrotte?"

"I am afraid not."

The man considered trying to convince the receptionist to let him meet Garrotte, but she did not look as though she could be persuaded. Deciding that he wasn't concerned as long as his work was done, the man left Garrotte's office, stopping only to look at the dirty sign outside.

**Garrotte - Wandslinger**

The sign was pretty much self-explanatory, and Garrotte did have nerves to put that up so boldly. But of course, the board must have been charmed to change when the Ministry folk came to inspect Knockturn Alley. However, one would think that a professional killer like Garrotte would at least keep a better signboard than that, with all the money he was getting on being one of the best hit wizards in Britain.


	3. Back to Hogwarts

**Author's Chapter Notes**:

Hey all! Chapter two!

I am very thankful to my Beta- Sarah/ TheCursedQuill for all her wonderful help! Anyway, please leave me your thoughts on that adorable little box below the story. And do take a moment to look at the cover art. I've used Emma Roberts for Brianna and Ed Westwick for Aiden. The rest, like, BWHR, are Logan Lerman for Albus, Alex Pettyfer for Scorpius and Emma Stone for Rose.

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**2. Back to Hogwarts**

When the Hogwarts Express stopped at Hogsmeade station, showers of rain were already wetting the environment. A slight fog surrounded the area as all the students got out of the train and heard Hagrid's voice boom over them. "Firs'-years this way! Over here!"

Rose stepped out of the train along with Albus and both of them waved at Hagrid before Scorpius, Brianna and Aiden got off too. The showers started to convert into a full-on pour and Scorpius impulsively opened up his large, black umbrella, magicked to accommodate all of them under it. Beside them, a few scared looking first years found their way to Hagrid, all of them wet despite their umbrellas. A lot of other students ran towards the carriages in order to get to a dry place as soon as possible.

"Let's go," said Albus impatiently and all of them headed towards the road where the stagecoaches would be waiting for them.

Rose took a deep breath as they headed towards the stagecoaches. For five years at Hogwarts, the Thestrals that pulled them had been invisible for her, but it had ceased to be so ever since Abby had died. She and Albus could now see the Thestrals- they had witnessed Abby's death last year. Brianna had run away to get a stretcher seconds before Abby's death; which was why they were still invisible to her.

As they reached the carriages, Rose saw the numerous Thestrals harnessed to them, their eyes staring and their wings leathery. She knew she was pale when she felt Scorpius squeeze her hand comfortingly. "Come on." He led her to the closest carriage and she climbed on before he folded his umbrella and got in, followed by the others.

"It's interesting that you have Thestral-drawn carriages," Aiden remarked. "We didn't get to see much of these back at Durmstrang."

"You- you can see them too?" Albus asked. He looked a little shaken as well.

"Yep," said Aiden. Nobody proceeded to question him about the death he had witnessed.

"I miss Abby," Rose whispered, leaning onto Scorpius.  
He pulled her close, but did not say anything. Rose knew how much he had hated Abby for ruining his and Rose's relationship. But all flaws aside, Abby had been a really good person. She was gone now and nothing would ever be the same.

Opposite her, Albus and Brianna were having a brief exchange of grief for Abby. Rose could make out their entwined fingers, each thumb caressing the other's hand. However, both of them stared in opposite directions, determined not to let anyone else know about their moment of emotional weakness. Aiden in the meantime, kept quiet. Rose realised that he was probably wondering about the sudden sad silence around him.

They finally reached the magnificent castle of Hogwarts, brightly lit and standing above them all graciously. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but that did not stop them from slipping on the wet paths as they headed for the Entrance Hall. Oddly enough, Professor Neville Longbottom was standing there, watching the students as they filed into the Great Hall.

When Rose and the others entered the castle, he looked at them with recognition on his face and approached them, causing Scorpius to walk over to Brianna's side.

"Hello, Professor Longbottom," Rose and Albus chorused together.

"Hello Rose, Albus, Miss Flynn, Mr Malfoy," Longbottom said cheerfully. He turned to Aiden. "Mr Wilde, you will be Sorted with the first years. If you could follow me, I'll show you to the waiting chamber."

"Yes, of course," Aiden replied before trailing after Longbottom.

The others stared after him and then started to head off into the doors to their right and into the Great Hall. "He's a strange bloke," said Albus, shuddering as they walked in.

"Oh, I'm glad you realised that too, Potter. I thought I was alone there," Scorpius said.

"There's nothing wrong with him," said Brianna. "He's attractive, if anything!"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Really, Bri?"

"Aw, don't be jealous, Al," replied Brianna, grinning at him. "I wouldn't leave you if it kills me."

Scorpius looked at Rose. "Hear, hear."

"Unluckily for you," said Rose smirking a little, "I'm not Brianna. What I said in the train still stands true."

He crossed his arms. "If that's what you want…"

"Don't be jealous!"

"It's easy for you to say that," he drawled grumpily before stalking off to the Slytherin table. When he looked back one last time, however, Rose blew him the tiniest hint of a kiss, making him give her a one-sided smirk. She smiled at him. She loved how he could never quite smile normally. It was always a smirk, whether he meant it or not.

"Come on, let's sit down," said Brianna and Rose followed her and Albus to the Gryffindor table where they found seats beside Lily, Hugo, James and his girlfriend, Chloe.

"All in one piece, are we?" James asked, with an impish grin on his face.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked him.

"My question is directed to Rosie and Bri," James replied to him. "Chloe was in pieces, going on about that new student in the compartment with the three of you and Malfoy. He walked by our compartment once and that was the beginning of it."

"You mean Aiden Wilde? How did you know he's new to Hogwarts?" asked Brianna.

"Easy to figure out, isn't it? If he had been at Hogwarts all this time, people would have noticed him. My girlfriend, especially, would have started gushing about him long ago." shrugged James.

"I wasn't gushing about him," said Chloe, turning red.

"Oh, don't feel guilty about it, Chloe," said Brianna. "He is quite attractive."

"Oh, anyone's going to be better than Al," James told Brianna. "I don't see how this is the first fellow you find more attractive than my brother."

"_Fuck_ you!" said Albus, grinning now. "I've had enough with her salivating over Wilde, as such, and you had to raise precisely that topic."

"That, little bro', is my duty," said James, bowing a little. He turned to Brianna. "I give you full permission to be my brother's ball-buster. Too many people are sweet to him."

Albus raised an eyebrow before raising a rude finger and sticking out his tongue at his brother at the same time.

"You're being a bad influence for your little sister, Al," James warned him.

Albus looked at Lily who didn't seem bothered by the exchange of obscenities around her. She was in fact talking to Hugo. He smirked at James. "She's fourteen. I bet she knows this stuff. Plus if she picks up anything she shouldn't, I'll tell Mum and Dad that it was you. They'll believe me. I'm the innocent one."

Rose watched her cousins fight without saying a word. There were four people whom she knew, who fought as long as things were normal between them. The first two were her parents. They bickered only when there was no real tension or problem. If they were nice to each other, it was a point to worry about. James and Albus were the other two people. The fact that they cared for each other was symbolised with James taking the mickey out of Albus. When he was younger, Albus often got upset by what James said but now he had grown up enough to throw his own set of obscenities at James in exchange for whatever James said.

She looked over at the staff table to see if Hagrid had returned yet and she saw a new member sitting amongst the others. It was a middle-aged man with strict eyes and a huge frame. His hair was dark brown and greying at his temples and he had a good amount of moustache sprouting from below his nose. Wondering whom he was replacing, Rose looked around and realised that Professor Booth, the elderly Transfiguration teacher seemed to be missing.

The others at the table were all the usual teachers- Professor Vector, the Headmistress, flanked by Professor Flitwick, their Charms teacher and Deputy Headmaster as well as Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher. Then there were Professors Robins, Longbottom, Walsh, Dawlish and Cousins; responsible for Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies respectively. Rose was just going to voice out her thoughts about the new staff addition when Hagrid made his way to his place. Professor Flitwick got up and left as Professor Sinistra placed the three legged stool with the Sorting Hat on it. In a minute, the doors to the Great Hall opened and everyone fell quiet as the first-years walked in nervously, looking tiny and pale. Rose could easily spot Aiden, who towered over them all. Everybody seemed to be staring at him as he walked in. Evidently, not many people joined Hogwarts in between the course. Aiden though didn't look very nervous. He was quite nonchalant.

Everybody then looked at the Sorting Hat, waiting for it to sing its song as usual. Soon enough, the frayed mouth had opened and the first-years seemed quite amazed as it started to sing.

_Ugly and dirty, torn and frayed as I am_  
_You might think I'm disgusting to wear,_  
_I won't adorn your pretty head I know_  
_But do put me on with a proud air._  
_For I know who you really are_  
_What thoughts wander deep to your face_  
_The secrets you keep from everybody else_  
_The mysteries that you hold firmly in a brace_  
_I can say if you might be a Gryffindor_  
_Chivalrous, brave and daring_  
_Or if you better belong in Hufflepuff_  
_For you may be industrious, loyal and caring_  
_You could be suited as a Ravenclaw_  
_Wit and knowledge carved to perfection_  
_You may otherwise fit into Slytherin_  
_Being ruled by thoughts of great ambition_  
_Noble as the four Houses are_  
_Their worth is all the same_  
_So put me on and do not fear_  
_Here begins your future, a part of the game._

Applause filled the Hall as the Hat fell quiet. Rose looked over to the Slytherin table to see Scorpius surrounded by his friends, Nott, Flint and his cousin, Zabini. He looked up at her and his grey eyes sparkled with the hint of a smile. She then turned to Professor Flitwick, who was unfurling a scroll of parchment. He cleared his voice and said, "Wilde, Aiden."

Aiden walked over to the stool and sat down on it as Professor Flitwick put the Hat over his head. It didn't take more than a couple of seconds for the Hat to call out the name of his house, though. "SLYTHERIN!"

***

Draco Malfoy took a sip of the wine and looked at the others seated around the gigantic dining table at the Malfoy Manor. His father, Lucius Malfoy, took the head of the table and was flanked by Narcissa Malfoy and Draco himself. To Draco's side was his wife, Astoria and to Narcissa's side were the guests, Astoria's sister Daphne and her husband, Blaise Zabini. The party chatted lightly while enjoying the rich meal. The topics wandered to Scorpius and Liam, both of whom had returned to Hogwarts that day to the new happenings at the Ministry and for the women, jewellery and new robe designs.

In a few minutes, however, dessert was served and before the adults knew it, their get-together had ended. As everybody got up from their places, Daphne checked her watch. "Oh, it is much too late. Blaise and I must get going," she said. "Thank you for a wonderful evening."  
"Will it be possible for all of you to join us for another casual dinner at our residence this weekend?" Blaise asked the Malfoys.

"Oh, we would have loved to," Narcissa replied. "However, we have other commitments. Lucius has some pending legality regarding the changing of his will and the Law Enforcement Officer insists for us to be present. He wanted Scorpius's presence as well, but we cannot ask him to come of course."

"Oh, that is fine then. We'll fix another date."

"That would be lovely."

The Malfoys and the Zabinis exchanged a few more pleasantries and the Zabinis made their way back home after a few minutes. When they were gone, Draco retired to his bedroom, closely followed by Astoria. Both of them changed into night robes and lay beside each other wordlessly on the gigantic bed. Draco's mind was full of thoughts and Astoria seemed to be thinking deeply too.

"It's dreadful on the day that Scorpius has to leave, isn't it?" Astoria said at last.

"Yes," replied Draco. There was a pause. "I am upset at him."

"Because of those rumours? Give it a rest, Draco."

"I cannot believe that of all the people he could choose, he has chosen Weasley's spawn for his lover."

"I'm sure she is a good girl."

"Yes, and she will be trained to insult our family, no doubt. Father is going to have a fit if he finds out about Scorpius and the Weasley girl."

"It's only a rumour, Draco; it may not even be true."

"It had better be just a rumour, Astoria. I am not going to tolerate my son having a romantic relationship with Granger's daughter. Never."

* * *

**Chapter End Notes:**

So, what do you people think of the Sorting Hat's song? I know it's short - I wasn't up to poetry when I wrote it. LOL

And what thoughts do you guys have about Aiden? :D


	4. Pillow Fights

This chapter is readable, all due to the efforts of my wonderful Beta, Sarah/TheCursedQuill. Thanks, hon! This chapter contains sexual situations- just so you guys know.

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**This chapter was originally written for, and is dedicated to a friend who I miss. It was back in late 2011 that I wrote this, just after an awful, awful incident, but I will never stop missing my friend. Rest in peace, mate. **

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**3. Pillow Fights**

The Sorting ceremony was done and the last of the puddings disappeared when everyone in the Great Hall had eaten to their fill. Albus put down his fork while partly listening to the girls talk about Aiden being sorted to Slytherin.

"He seemed okay," said Brianna in a disappointed voice. "I can't believe he ended up being a Slytherin."

Annoyed as he was to hear his girlfriend talk about Aiden, Albus was more interested in the additions on the staff table. At first, there had only been one new face- a huge man. But then he had been joined by another lean man in his thirties and a woman around the same age as the second man. Albus wondered why there seemed to be so many new additions to the staff when all the old teachers were present in the Great Hall anyway.

"Being in Slytherin doesn't have to mean that Aiden is a bad person." Rose said to Brianna.

"Frankly, Rosie, Scorpius is the only Slytherin I actually like. The rest of them think no end of themselves."

"I'm sure Aiden's a nice guy."

"Will you girls stop talking about Aiden?" Albus asked them exasperatedly.

Both of them kept quiet at once. Albus doubted it was the result of him telling them off, because Professor Vector had just risen to her feet. "Good evening, and welcome to a brand new year at Hogwarts. First of all, I'd like you all to welcome our new staff members- Professor Katherine Parker- who, due to the large number of students pursuing Muggle Studies these days will be sharing students for the same with Professor Cousins." The woman was on her feet, beaming at everybody while applause broke through the hall.

"Next, I'd like you all to welcome Healer Hermann Stone. He will be in charge of the Hospital Wing, as Madam Pomfrey has decided to retire this year." The lean man in his thirties stood up and smiled through the applause.

"Last, but not the least, I would like you all to welcome Professor Kenneth Wright, who will be replacing Professor Booth as Transfiguration teacher."

There was applause again and Albus and Rose looked at each other while they clapped. "He's scary!" said Rose to her cousin.

"I agree," said Albus. "The first-years are going to pee in their pants if he turns out to be as strict as he looks."

Professor Vector gave out the usual start-of-term notices and then everyone was prepared to go. "My dorm in an hour," Albus whispered in Brianna's ear before rushing off to lead the first-years to the Gryffindor common room along with Rose, feeling happiness fill him. He was finally at Hogwarts. And he had a feeling this year was not going to be another quiet, boring year. It was going to be different- exciting.

***

Albus lay down on his bed- alone in his dormitory, just as someone knocked on the door. "Al?"

"Come in!" he replied, recognising it as Brianna's voice. The door opened and she walked in, with a sparkle in her eyes.

Albus grinned at her as he sat up. "I thought you'd never come."

"And what made you think so?"

"It's so late!"

Brianna sat on his bed and smiled. "Yeah, so I expect you to wait for me a little bit."

"Really?" Albus grinned at her. "I'm not at all impressed. I'll have to punish you."

"Oh, bring it on, then."

His grin turned mischievous. "Sure, if you insist!" He picked up one of his pillows and threw it at her.

"Hey!" She picked up another pillow and hit him with it, then pressing it against his chest and pushing him back onto his bed. She climbed onto him, her legs flanking his sides and her face just an inch away from his. She spoke to him in a whisper. "The reason I was late was that what we're about to do only happens when it's late."

She pulled the curtains shut and placed her lips on his. It was fast and passionate. Her hands found his hair and ran through them as he removed her elastic hairband and undid her ponytail.

His fingers felt her soft hair and sorted through them, strands slipping between them like silk. Then her hands were on his back, probing beneath his shirt… warm, soft fingers on his bare back. He felt goosebumps rise on his skin as her tongue flicked his mouth deliciously. He pulled away. "Bri…"

"I want it, Al," she gasped.

"No. Once we do this, there'll be no turning back. I'm saying this for your own good. I'm a guy. It's not going to make much of a difference-"

"I'm sure," she whispered to him. "I want this to happen."

"After Abby and Ian's mistake-"

"Al…" she sighed. "No Abby and Ian right now, okay? We'll discuss that later. Don't ruin the moment." Without warning kissed him again and placed his hands on her back.

Once again he could feel her tongue move between his teeth as he reached the rim of her t-shirt. He began to remove it and she pulled away just in time for him to remove it completely. She undid the buttons of his shirt and pulled it off before placing her lips on his neck. He shuddered and started to undo her bra. Just then, there was another knock on the door.

"Fuck," gasped Brianna, surfacing again.

"Who is it?" Albus called out.

"Rose," replied his cousin's voice.

"J-Just a minute," replied Albus, fumbling for his shirt. Suddenly he realised that Brianna was starting to put it on. "Bri!"

"Shh! Just wear another one!" she whispered, fastening the buttons in a hurry. "You must have plenty of shirts."

Albus obeyed her and smoothed his hair as Brianna tied hers up. Then he ripped open the hangings of his four-poster. "Come in, Rosie!"

Rose opened the door and walked in. "What took you so long?"

"I- er- I was in the bathroom," said Albus, not facing her as he shut the door behind her.

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "If you were snogging Bri then just say so."

He felt a blush creep up his cheeks. "You got us."

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow then," said Rose understandingly. "You two continue-"

"I'm coming with you," said Brianna, walking up to her. "I was leaving anyway."

Rose eyes swivelled over from Albus's messed up bed to both Albus and Brianna's dishevelled appearances. "Okay, then. Goodnight, Al."

"Wait!" said Albus. "Bri and I are- er free anyway, so you can say whatever you wanted to in the first place."

Rose smiled. "We'll talk tomorrow."

Albus looked at Brianna and understood that whatever Rose had wanted to say was only supposed to be meant for him. "Okay," he said. Bri kissed his cheek before leaving and when she turned her back, Albus looked at Rose. "Morning at six," he mouthed to her. Brianna woke up only by seven, so Albus would be able to speak to Rose without her around.

Rose gave him the tiniest nod before exiting the room with Brianna.

***

Scorpius stripped into his nightclothes and lay down on his bed. School was about to start again and he could feel excitement course through him. Beside his bed, an extra bed had been magically added to the dormitory to accommodate Wilde. Scorpius could hear him unpack his trunk and set up his bedside stand and cupboard. His other roommates were still in the common room, catching up with rest of his housemates. Scorpius didn't prefer to sit in the common room. The other Slytherins didn't quite like him ever since he had started dating Rose and befriending her Gryffindor mates. For some, it still was not right for the Slytherins and Gryffindors to fraternise.

Wilde seemed to need to use the loo. Scorpius could hear the door to the bathroom open and shut. He rolled over, his eyes heavy. The lovely feast at the Great Hall had been so scrumptious…

It was dark and peaceful for a long, long time. Hours… ages were passing. He was in a beautiful world, sleeping soundly with no dreams. Then quite suddenly, he was with Rose in the Three Broomsticks. Madame Rosmerta placed two tankards of Butterbeer at their table. Rose raised her tankard happily. "To you and me… so that our relationship stays through the years… through the birth of our first child."

Scorpius wasn't sure he had quite heard what she said. Where did the question of their first child come from? They were teenagers. Having kids was not a topic they discussed. Then to his horror, Scorpius realised that Rose was holding not a tankard of Butterbeer, but a goblet of pumpkin juice.

As if on cue, Rose stood up to reveal a swollen belly. Scorpius just stared at his pregnant girlfriend, unable to say anything. He could feel his chest constrict. This was not happening… this was not happening…

***

Albus woke up the moment he heard his alarm go off. Rose had clearly wanted to convey something very important to him last night and he wanted to know what it was. He showered, shaved and dressed in his school robes before packing his bag with a few textbooks and his OWL result. He had passed almost all subjects with mostly Es and fewer Os. The only subjects he had failed were Ancient Runes and History of Magic, which he had always been weak in.

He descended the spiralling staircases to the common room where Rose was already waiting for him, coaxing Hugo to start studying while he refused to do so and cursed her for waking him up from his sleep.

"Let him sleep, Rosie," Albus said as he reached his cousins. "He's only in his fourth-year."

"He will give his O. next year and he ought to develop a habit of working hard!" said Rose indignantly.

"He'll be fine with a little bit of sleep. Let him be. And come on, even _you_ didn't work that hard for our O. ."

Hugo took the opportunity to look at his sister with big, blue eyes. "Let me sleep, Rosie, I'm tired."

"Okay," Rose sighed. "Go on, then."

"Yay! Thanks!" said Hugo and rushed up the stairs to his dormitory while Albus took his vacated seat.

Rose turned to him immediately. "Yes, I've been meaning to talk to you, Al."

He nodded. "You told me so last night. What is it?"

"I… well just wanted to ask you if you could write to your Dad and ask him to get a background check on Aiden."

Albus crossed his arms. "Why?"

"I don't know. I don't have a good feeling about him. He seemed to be unnaturally interested in befriending all of us. Last night when we were heading to the dormitories, he tried to talk to Lily and Hugo too. Seeing who our parents are, I think we'd better be safe than sorry."

"Aha! So you do agree that he's weird."

She smiled. "Of course I do! Bri and I were just trying to irritate you and Scorpius last night. But it's not just that he's weird. How many people actually switch schools like this? What do you find weird about him?"

"Well, actually- I was just wondering why he has a British accent if he's Bulgarian."

"He's not Bulgarian. He's British. He just moved to Bulgaria with his parents for a few years."

"Even then, shouldn't he have picked up a hint of an accent, at least?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "We're in Scotland. I don't see any hints of a Scottish accent in any of us. And Aiden's name sounds properly British, so I don't doubt his true nationality."

"Okay then, I'll write to Dad just now. Is this all you wanted to say? You could have said it in front of Bri last night."

Rose looked at Albus earnestly. "I had come with the intention of saying just this. But when I saw you and Bri-"

"That was nothing."

"Come on, Al, you don't think I could make out that Bri was wearing your shirt? There can be circumstances- the worst kind will be for her."

"I know, Rosie. I know what I'm doing. Don't worry. I'll never take a step that might ruin her life in any way. Never."

***

Scorpius knew that he was dreaming. It was a horrible dream. He had to wake up… he had to wake up…

There was darkness again, but he wasn't able to open his eyes. The dream seemed to be continuing, for he could still feel the terrible constricting sensation against his chest. His breath was laboured. He could barely breathe- there was absolutely no air.

When he came to completely, he could only make out the softness of the pillow being pressed against his face, keeping his eyes, nose and mouth forcefully shut and making sure he couldn't breathe as he started to plunge into the welcoming unconsciousness again.


	5. The Past and the Future

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

I'd like to thank TheCursedQuill/ Sarah for all her help. You're awesome! :)

Please R/R, guys! I love reviews!

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**4. The Past and the Future**

Scorpius wanted to breathe, but there was nothing he could do. He wanted to scream but there was no way out. There was a ringing sound in his ears… he was losing touch with what was happening…

"Are you MENTAL?"

There was a sound of commotion, and someone forced the pillow away from Scorpius's face. A pair of arms propped him up on his bed and he could feel someone slapping his back firmly as he coughed. He opened his eyes as the coughing fit subsided to see that the arms belonged to Nott, who continued slapping his back with a strange expression on his face. Behind Nott were his other roommates- Wilde and Flint, their arms crossed across their chests.

"Are you all right?" Wilde asked him.

Scorpius looked at Nott. "W-What just h-happened?"

"You were holding the pillow against your own face. We thought you had gone mad."

"What?! No! Someone else was holding it- why would I do such a thing anyway?"

"We have no idea," Flint answered him.

"That's impossible." Scorpius looked at Wilde. "Did you see anyone?"

"No, we saw you holding the pillow against your own face," said Wilde. His expression mimicked Nott's. It was odd. Flint also nodded in agreement.

"But- I-" Scorpius realised that it was no use talking to any of his roommates. Something was evidently wrong with all three of them. Were they under the Imperius Curse?

What _was_ that, though? Had somebody just tried to kill him? Why would anyone want to do that? Or was it possible that Scorpius had actually held his own pillow to himself in his dreams by mistake? What had that dream been about to get him that worked up? This was strange.

Scorpius got out of his bed, deciding to get out of his dormitory quickly. He needed to talk to somebody about what had happened- somebody who didn't behave as lost as Nott or Flint. He couldn't possibly talk to Rose about this because she'd worry. Zabini would make sure the entire family knew about him, and the next thing Scorpius wanted was for Draco to throw a fit and send another bodyguard to protect him at Hogwarts too. Potter would hear him out and give him a few legitimate opinions though, so it would probably be best to talk to Potter about this.

***

"Ugh, double Potions first thing this morning!" Albus complained, looking at his newly created time-table.

"Why did you take Potions if you don't like it?" Rose asked him. "This was your chance to drop the subject. You're not keen on being an Auror or a Healer or anything of that sort anyway."

"Nah," replied Albus. "It's a necessary subject. Useful to know the thing."

"We have Muggle Studies after Potions," said Rose, consulting her own time-table. "And it's with Professor Parker."

"Oh, first period is free for me. After that, I have double Divination so I won't see you two until lunch," said Brianna. "I can't wait to see what they teach this year though."

"Mum always said Trelawney was an old fraud," Rose told her. "I don't see why you're still taking Divination."

"Hey! I've been brought up with Muggles. I find Divination as interesting as you find Muggle Studies," replied Brianna.

"Why did you drop Potions?"

"I'm bored of the subject," said Brianna. "I want to be a journalist, so Potions isn't going to do me any good as such."

"It's great that you know what you want to do in the future," said Albus. "I don't even know what I want to do tomorrow. But it's a good thing Dad and Mum don't keep bothering me to come up with an ambition. They've told me to let my instincts guide me. Uncle Neville thinks I should be an Auror, but I disagree. I think I want to be a professional Quidditch player like Mum."

"Uncle Neville thinks I should take a post at the Ministry like my Mum," said Rose. "Robins told Scorpius he'll be good as a Healer. I think so too."

"Oh yes, he will make a wonderful Healer!" Brianna agreed with Rose. "Remember how he recognised Abby's health condition and attributed it to poisoning last year? He's pretty observant."

"That's what I told him," said Rose. "But he thinks his Dad might not agree with the idea because being a Healer will not bring him power over anyone."

"Well, that's true. Healing is no Ministry job where you can control people. Though technically, a lot of people's lives are in your hands."

Brianna finished the last of her fried egg and looked at her watch. "Don't you people have a class to attend?"

"Oh yeah," said Rose, and she and Albus began to eat at top speed. When they were done in two minutes, Albus kissed Brianna goodbye and headed to the dungeons with Rose.

They were just on time for the class. Professor Robins entered exactly a minute after they had taken their table. They were the only Gryffindors in the class. Apart from them were three Hufflepuffs, four Ravenclaws and two Slytherins- Malfoy and Aiden.

"Okay, then, let's begin with class," said Robins, waving his wand at the board. A list of instructions appeared on it.

"These are the instructions for the Draught of Living Death. It is one of the strongest Sleeping Draughts. Let's see how you all fare at the end of the class. Five points to each correctly brewed potion."

Albus and Rose shared their table with the Slytherins, while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs eyed them suspiciously. Professor Robins seemed least bothered by the display of fraternity between the unlikeliest of Houses.

Albus proceeded to add his ingredients to the weighing scales. All of them brewed their potions in silence. At the end of about half-an-hour, only two people were ready with the correctly brewed potion- Rose and Aiden. Malfoy's potion gave off green, pungent fumes and Albus's potion glowed a bright pink, ejecting sickening sweet vapours. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were equally unsuccessful.

"Five points to Gryffindor and Slytherin each," said Professor Robins as he took a round, peeking into each student's cauldron. "The rest of you will try again once I dictate a few notes. This potion is important for your N.E.W.T's, which you will all be sitting for next year. Please don't think that you can relax after having given your O.W.L's. This is just the beginning of the difficult part of your academics."

"Great," muttered Albus as they all pulled out their quills and parchment for the notes. "This is all I need the first day of sixth year." The O.W.L's had been a big enough nightmare, with the Abby incident occurring just a few months before them. Albus couldn't bear to remember how he, Rose and Brianna rushed to the Room of Requirement early every morning for some extra hours of study in the week prior to the exams because none of them had been able to study until then. Even in that single week it had been hard enough for them to concentrate.

In the next ten minutes Professor Robins had finished the dictation. Rose and Aiden were excused from sitting for the rest of the class while the rest got back to re-brewing their potion.

Albus and Malfoy were alone at the table now. They worked quietly, not wanting to mess up their potions this time. But as Albus crushed the Sopophorous Bean with the flat side of the blade of his knife, he felt Malfoy's eyes on him. "'S' matter?" Albus asked as he added the juice to his potion.

"I need to talk to you about something," said Malfoy in a low voice.

"Now?"

"I can't talk about this in front of Rose."

"Important?"

"Just hear me out, Potter."

Albus started to stir his potion. "Tell me."

"I- I don't want to be melodramatic here- but… I think someone tried to… kill me."

Albus took a sharp breath, but continued to stir. "Did someone see-?"

"The attacker? No."

"How-?"

"A pillow against my face. Nott rescued me, but he, Flint and Wilde didn't see anyone. They seem to think I was holding the pillow to my own face, but somehow I don't remember wanting to. I think I was having some kind of a disturbing dream at the same time, though, so it could have been an act instigated by my dream."

"People don't get instigated to kill themselves even in the worst nightmares," said Albus.

"That's exactly what I thought."

"So… have you told anyone about this?"

"No. Should I?"

"I think you should." Albus heaved a sigh of relief when his concoction turned clear. "I can talk to Dad about this if you want. This could be a serious issue. After your Mum this summer…" He could see that Malfoy was thinking hard over what he had just said. He, however, seemed to reach a different decision.

"I think I'll let it be for now. If anything else happens, you can talk to your Dad about it."

"So you don't want me to tell him yet?"

"Not now. I just…" Scorpius looked a little embarrassed. "Needed someone who wouldn't flip, cry or suggest a bodyguard, but care enough to listen to me. You are a good friend, Potter. I should have listened to Rose long ago."

"Oh," said Albus, a little embarrassed himself. "No problem."

Robins came by their table. "Very good, Potter, you may leave," he said to Albus. Malfoy had brewed his potion wrong for the second time. "Malfoy," said Robins again, seriously. "You will write the entire potion-brewing procedure for homework and submit it along with your essay next week. Learn to concentrate on what you're doing the next time."

***

"My life line is apparently pretty short," Brianna declared at lunch, looking grim and holding up her palm for Albus and Rose to see.

Albus snorted into his goblet of water. "There you go."

"What? This is serious!" said Brianna. "I may not live very long."

"I thought you finished palmistry back in third-year," said Rose.

"We revised, and Professor Trelawney read my palm."

"Don't worry, Dad says she's only made two true predictions to date," said Albus comfortingly. "If you have to know, she used to keep predicting Dad's death too until she broke down in the end and told him he'd live long, become Minister for Magic and have twelve children. Well, unless James, Lily and I are equal to four kids each, he pretty much has just three children."

"But don't you see? After Kingsley it's probably going to be your dad, there is no question that he is living- and will live long; and there's always time for you to have nine more siblings!"

"Don't be stupid, Bri, that's not possible. Mum will murder Dad if he expects another nine kids and that will falsify the first part of Trelawney's prediction. Now stop being paranoid. Trelawney apparently just enjoys this rubbish."

"Yeah," added Rose. "Dad told me how he and Uncle Harry faked tragic predictions sometimes, all of which earned them really good marks. Keep calm. You're not going to die that early."

"And even if I do, I'll take Albus along with me."

Albus looked at her. "That's a real waste. We won't be together after we die anyway- you being in hell and me being in heaven and all…"

"Shut up…"

***

The hooded man made his way through Knockturn Alley for the umpteenth time and finally entered Garrotte's office. It was generally open only for an hour a day and the receptionist was already getting ready to shut the office down when he arrived.

"Number eleven," said the man loudly.

The receptionist consulted her parchment. "It will take time."

"May I know why?"

"It's difficult. Garrotte tried to carry out the task this morning, but the boy's roommates rescued him."

"Then do it when the roommates are not close by!"

"He knows how to do it. You need not reprimand-"

"This is the second mistake that Garrotte has made! Astoria Greengrass walked out alive from that party and Scorpius Malfoy is still not dead. I am not paying an arm and a leg for such lousy work!"

The receptionist glared at him. "The mistakes have been noted; thank you very much. If you want to continue to pester us, I will ask Garrotte to abort this immediately. It's not as if you are the only person we are here to work for."

The man calmed. "Okay, I'm sorry. But please tell him to make it quick."

"It will take time. Be patient. All the Malfoys cannot be murdered in one day, or they'll catch us all."

The man sighed. "All right, then. Take your time. And… what's your name, dear?"

The receptionist looked at him with her sharp eyes. "I'm Nadia Winter Damon. You can call me Nadia or Willy."

***

Aiden stared across the Slytherin table to the Gryffindor table, his eyes stuck on _her_. He took a deep breath and wished she were facing her back to him. Her eyes were distracting him. He hated her eyes. He hated her eyes because he knew how much he had loved them in the past. He felt his mind slipping back to a memory two years ago.

_A bright voice. A bright smile with a slight dimple on the left cheek. And those eyes…_

"Hello! What's your name…?"

Aiden tore himself away before the name came back to his mind. It was painful to think about. Of course what he was feeling for _her_ wasn't the same this time. It was the exact opposite. _She_ was nowhere close to Aiden's previous love.

Wait. _Previous_ love? That wasn't previous love; it was someone that Aiden would never be able to forget. He wondered why he had taken all those times for granted. Why he had fought and initiated all those rifts at that time. Of course, if he had known how time was running out… how he would be separated so terribly from the very person he loved, he would have been calmer. He would have taken it easy.

He thought he had gotten over the past. But now there was this girl- Brianna Flynn. Her eyes were so similar to… Aiden didn't want to think about it. The sooner he forgot about it, the better he'd be able to concentrate on his main purpose for coming to Hogwarts.

"Stop staring at the Gryffindors, Wilde, or everybody here will probably ostracise you like they did me," Scorpius's drawling voice drilled into Aiden's thoughts with the sudden advice.

Aiden raised an eyebrow at him. "And why is that?"

"Gryffindors and Slytherins accept each other as enemies. Our housemates hate the barest minimum of our mingling with the Gryffindors."

"It doesn't help that you have a girlfriend from Gryffindor, does it? Does it bother you that these people ostracise you?"

"It doesn't matter to me anymore." Scorpius shrugged. "I think the people here are too prejudiced sometimes."

"And your girlfriend's best friend? Brianna Flynn?"

"What about her?"

"Is she taken too?" Aiden tried to ignore the thought in his mind that hoped otherwise. This was insane! Flynn wasn't even his type!

"She's got Potter, hasn't she?"

"Oh, I forgot about that." Of course! Harry Potter's son was Flynn's boyfriend. How could Aiden ever forget about that?

"Well," Scorpius said, pushing aside his empty plate. "I'm going over to their table now. See you at class."

Aiden nodded and watched Scorpius walk away, yet again trying to ignore the terrible, sinking feeling in his mind. He couldn't fight away the memory this time.

_"Hello! What's your name? I am Willy."_


	6. Jealousy, Frustration and Capabilities

**A/N:** Many thanks to my two betas Sarah/TheCursedQuill and noblefate/Megan for their help! :) Also, thank you, Jess, for showing me some of the mistakes in my letter. Lub juuu!

Reviews will be adored! :D

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_**5. Jealousy, Frustration and Hidden Capabilities**_

_"Aiden Wilde, son of Oliver and Dana Wilde, is sixteen years old. He was born in London and his name was listed at Hogwarts, but he could not attend school there because his family moved to Bulgaria when he was ten years old. He attended five years at Durmstrang Institute after which his parents had to relocate to England."_ Albus put his father's letter down. "Well, that's pretty much what Aiden told us himself." He, Rose and Brianna were in the Common Room, struggling over the enormous amount of homework that they'd been set that week. They were just pushing on with the consolation that after another day, the weekend would arrive.

"He did tell us that stuff," Rose agreed with Albus. "And if Uncle Harry has confirmed this, it ought to be true."

"Yeah, so what's the deal with Wilde, then? Why does he act so strange? And why is he here at Hogwarts? Durmstrang is a boarding school as well, so his parents relocating shouldn't have been a problem."

"Maybe he's actually that strange," said Albus. "I hate how he's all friendly sometimes, and aloof at others. And the school thing is definitely weird."

Brianna looked up from her homework. "Don't you two have enormous Muggle Studies essays to complete?"

"Oh yeah." Albus sighed, returning to his Muggle Studies textbook and turning to a page that described electric devices. "We have to write a foot-long essay about computers."

"Stop speculating about Aiden and do it, then."

"Why are you being so touchy?"

Brianna crossed her arms. "I don't see why you had to write to your father to _confirm_ if Aiden was being genuine."

"There are certain things we ought to do, Bri," Albus explained to her. "You have no clue about how many people have it in for my Dad and Rosie's parents."

"I know you have a famous family and all, Al, but that doesn't give you the right to insult-"

"It was necessary! And how was I insulting Aiden in any way?"

"Yes, I see how necessary that was."

"Why are you angry at me?"

Brianna crossed her arms. "Al, since the day we arrived at Hogwarts, how much time have you spent with me?"

"We spent time on the night that we arrived. We've had all our meals together, and we sit together for homework."

"Well, thank you very much for the little concern," said Brianna. "Tell me, have you once asked me about how my day was?"

"Why do you need me to-?"

"I was worried about Trelawney's prediction!" broke Brianna, finally getting to the point. "And instead of comforting me, you made fun of me!"

Albus finally realised what this was about. He took her hand in his. "Hey, why is that prediction upsetting you so much? She's an old fraud!"

"I don't know…" said Brianna, looking as though she were about to dissolve in tears. "She sounded like she was serious."

"Oh, Bri, she always does! But you shouldn't believe such things. Come on…"

"But what if it's true?"

"It most definitely isn't. Relax, now."

Brianna took a deep breath and rested her head on Albus's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just that with the prediction… and you and Rosie have been so busy with your homework these few days… I lost it when Aiden came and asked me what was wrong, when you didn't even seem to notice anything."

"He did?" Albus asked her. "When?"

"At dinner today. He looked genuinely concerned."

Albus stole a glance at Rose before asking Brianna, "He didn't ask you anything about me or Rosie did he?"

Brianna sat up straight and glared at Albus. "You know what? I'm done with your attitude! Not everything is about your family, okay? Genuine people do exist on this planet." She stood up, grabbed her things and rushed off to the girls' dormitories. But before she ascended the staircases, she turned around. "And just so you know, he didn't ask me a thing about you or Rosie."

Albus turned to Rose helplessly. "Since when did she become so sensitive about some random guy? And did she just fight with me for the same guy?"

***

"Wright is a nightmare. He literally hands out detentions left, right, and centre. He gave me detention for talking in class!" complained Hugo loudly as he sat at the Great Hall and pulled some cereal towards himself.

"I know, we've had him twice and he's given out five detentions already," said Rose. "But how did you get caught?"

"Do you ever not talk in class?"

"Of course I do. I just never get caught."

"Teach me how to do that then."

"Can I please interrupt this?" asked James suddenly, squeezing himself in between Rose and Albus. He had arrived with Fred, Molly, and Chloe who were sitting a little away from Albus.

"Ow!" said Rose, smacking her cousin on his arm. "Did you have to sit between us like that?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to irritate you, Rosie, I just couldn't find a comment to trouble Al today, so I decided on this," said James. "I'm sorry about the discomfort I've caused you."

Albus rolled his eyes at his brother. "Tell us something new, James."

"That's what I'm here for, lil' bro," said James. "I've come to announce Quidditch try outs next week."

"Oh! I'm trying out this year!" said Lily, looking up from her breakfast. "Is the position for the Keeper empty?"

"You can try out for any position you like," James told her. "Except for the Seeker's place, of course- that's me," He glanced at Albus and added loudly, "_Just_ like Dad."

"Oh well, I'm a Chaser just like Mum, so you can understand if I'm not jealous," Albus told him coolly.

James chose to ignore this and turned to Roxanne, who was sitting nearby. "Are you interested in joining the team, Roxy?"

"Okay!" said his thirteen-year-old cousin.

"Come for try-outs next week then."

"Cool! Have you spoken to Lucy? She wants to join the team, too."

"Where is she?" asked James, looking around.

"I think she's in the library. She said something about having to study a lot for her OWLs." Just like Uncle Percy and a little less like Rose, Lucy was very particular with her academics.

"I'll ask her later then," said James to Roxanne. "Actually, I'm going to put up a notice about it in the evening, but I just thought family should know first."

"How considerate," huffed Albus, rolling his eyes. "But I hope you realise that it counts as being biased."

James took an ill-aimed whack at his brother's head before going to sit with Fred, Molly, and Chloe.

"Looks like the Gryffindor team is going to be rechristened as the Weasley-Potter team if we all make it through the try-outs this year," said Rose. She was on the team herself. She played a Chaser. "The matches will be interesting."

Albus wasn't really listening to her, though. Brianna had been missing since the morning. He had asked Rose about her, but she told him that Brianna wasn't there in the dormitory even when she woke up. This was odd, for Brianna seldom woke up early in the morning on her own. Someone always had to wake her up.

"I found Bri, Al," Lily declared suddenly, gesturing towards the door to the Great Hall. Albus turned around, only to meet a sinking feeling inside him. Brianna was talking animatedly to Aiden, and they just seemed to have returned from a walk in the grounds.

***

"What were you doing with Aiden so early in the morning?"

"Why, are you jealous?"

Rose tried to ignore the mutterings of her cousin and his girlfriend and concentrate on what Professor Wright was teaching. The teacher went on to explain theories of basic Transfiguration, non-verbal spells and their uses. "Today, we will learn in detail about the basic theory relating to Elemental Transfiguration. Who will narrate Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?"

Rose raised her hand on impulse, but so did a few others in the room.

"Yes, Mr Macmillan?" Wright gestured to a Hufflepuff.

Macmillan stood up and narrated the law as it was given in the textbook. "Five points to Hufflepuff," said Wright. "Sit down." He started to explain in detail about Elemental Transfiguration and Rose took down notes, but a snippet of conversation from beside her distracted her concentration.

"Did you know that something weird happened to Scorpius on the night we were back? Aiden was in the dorm," said Brianna to Albus.

"What happened?" Rose asked her before Albus could answer.

"Nothing-" Albus tried to convey something to Brianna, but she obviously didn't get it. She went on.

"Apparently, he was holding his pillow to his own face. Well- that's what it looked like because he kept insisting there was someone else in there who attacked him. The others didn't spot anybody around, though."

"What?!" whispered Rose. She looked at Albus. "You knew about that?"

He turned his green eyes away from her. "I… er-"

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"He told me not to tell you because you'd worry."

"Well, did he think I'd never find out? I-"

"Miss Weasley, Miss Flynn, Mr Potter I hope what you're discussing is of more importance than what I am teaching the class," Wright said loudly, and the three of them jumped.

Rose immediately turned her attention to Wright, who was looking at them sternly. "Miss Flynn, what can you tell me about the three Unforgivable Curses?"

Brianna seemed to be a little bewildered. This was an odd question to ask in a Transfiguration lecture. She answered anyway. "I… er- there's the Imperius Curse, which is cast on the person to exercise physical and mental control over them."

"Okay, Miss Weasley, the next Unforgivable Curse?"

"The Cruciatus Curse," Rose answered.

"Tell me more about it. What was the time period when it was common?"

"It is to torture the victim… it is known to have been in use rather a lot between 1996 and 1998, and in the sixties and seventies, before that." She shuddered even as she said it. Her father had once told her the story of how her mother had been tortured by Scorpius's great-aunt Bellatrix Lestrange in the Malfoy Manor. It was a ruse to keep her away from Scorpius, of course, but Rose's mother had also spoken to her and told her not to judge Scorpius by something his great-aunt had done.

"So what happened in 1998, Miss Weasley?"

"The second war against Voldemort." There was a murmur in the room. Several people flinched at the sound of his name.

"Do you know anybody whom it was used upon?"

"Y-Yes." Thankfully, Wright did not question Rose any further about that. He turned to Albus.

"And Mr Potter, if you will explain the rest?"

"The last Unforgivable Curse is _Avada Kedavra,_" said Albus. "It is used to kill the victim."

"So can people survive it?" Wright asked him.

"No."

"Who has survived it, then? Is there such a person?"

Albus turned red. "Yes. Da- er… Mr Harry Potter is known to have survived it twice."

"And was any other Unforgivable Curse used on Mr Harry Potter?"

"Yes sir, the Imperius Curse as well as the Cruciatus Curse."

Wright was glaring at them. "Since at least the two of you have been reminded of what your parents were going through at your age, I expect you to pay attention to the lecture, rather than chit-chat and waste your time. Everything you learn at school can be important- maybe you'll want you ask your parents about it one day."

"I'm sorry, sir," said Rose quietly. Albus and Brianna apologised too. They were all quiet for the rest of the lecture. But this wasn't all. Even in the end as they started to leave, Wright called them all back into the class.

"All three of you will serve detention," he told them. "I will let you know about the date, time and also about what you will be doing. I need you all to get this straight: I will not tolerate any of this again. Today it is just one detention. The next time you distract my class, I'll make sure you get a week's detention."

***

"Ugh, what does Wright have against our family?" Albus whined, cutting his chicken to little pieces.

"First Hugo, now us," Rose sighed. "And I've _never_ had to serve detention before! This is so embarrassing…"

"I've been in loads of them," Albus told her. "But never have I been in one so early in the year."

"Good one, lil' bro', maybe you've finally done something that I've never done- detention on the first week of school," said James as he approached his siblings and cousins and sat himself at the table. Albus scowled at James's voice as the latter, along with Fred, Chloe, and Molly, joined them. "I heard something, Rosie," James told her. "There seems to be an interesting name in the list for Seeker position sign-ups in the Slytherin team."

"No way," whispered Rose, turning around immediately and looking at Scorpius, who was chatting with Zabini. "Why didn't he tell me he'd be signing up?"

"Maybe he decided not to embarrass himself if he didn't make the team," said James.

Rose just hoped that James was right.

***

"I'm closing the Quidditch sign-ups at midnight," Lenny Harper announced in the Slytherin Common Room. "Please give me your name if any of you wants in on the team."

Aiden fought with the thoughts inside him, wondering if it would be okay for him to sign up. He was quite good at Quidditch, having played as a Beater at Durmstrang. Was it advisable for him to sign up now?

"Was it just me, or did you go for a walk with Flynn this morning?" asked a voice, and Aiden turned to see Malfoy seated on an armchair next to him.

"I did take an early morning walk with Brianna," Aiden replied to him. "I don't care what the rest of my housemates say. At Durmstrang, we were always taught to ignore what the rest of the world might think of us. Hogwarts is too society-oriented, I think."

Malfoy shrugged at him. "Well, you can't say I hadn't warned you."

"I enjoy Brianna's company," said Aiden nonchalantly. "I don't see why the rest of the Slytherins should have a problem with it."

"Well, it won't only be the Slytherins who'll have a problem if you get too close to Flynn. Potter is most likely to bash your head in, too."

"It is his fault if he gets jealous," Aiden pointed out.

"I won't say it's entirely his fault," said Malfoy. "He has had his fair share of heartbreak to be a little possessive of her. And so has Flynn, for that matter…"

"Really?" Aiden asked, looking directly at Malfoy. "What happened?"

"Well, that's not something I'd prefer to share," Malfoy told him. But Aiden had caught on. What had happened to Brianna? Had Potter broken her heart? If only he could take a peek into Malfoy's eyes and find out…

"Well, I'm going to bed," said Malfoy, standing up and looking at him. _Voila!_ Aiden looked into his eyes and received flashes of the information he needed in the mere fraction of a second. But he was disappointed. The heartbreak Malfoy had mentioned wasn't the way Aiden thought it was. It had involved a lanky boy and a blonde girl- both of whom Aiden had never seen. Also, had Malfoy signed up for Quidditch? And were all the three Potters, plus many of the Weasleys trying out too?

Unless Malfoy was an extremely good Occlumens, Aiden was sure he had hit jackpot. He stood up from his armchair. "Harper, I'd like to try out for the position of a Beater." Quidditch could be a good excuse for a lot of things.

* * *

**Chapter End Notes:**

I know this isn't very long, but I'm sorry! I'll definitely finish the next chapter ASAP. :)

Thanks for reading!


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